Order of Authors in A List
Rules for the order of multiple authors in a list vary significantly between fields of research, but are generally consistent within a particular field. Some fields list authors in order of their degree of involvement in the work, with the most active contributors listed first; other fields, such as Mathematics or Engineering (e.g. Control theory), sometimes list them alphabetically. Biologists tend to place a principal investigator (supervisor or lab head) last in an author list; organic chemists might put him or her first.
Although listing authors in order of the involvement in the project seems straightforward, it often leads to conflict. A study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that more than two-thirds of 919 corresponding authors disagreed with their coauthors regarding contributions of each author.
Read more about this topic: Academic Authorship
Famous quotes containing the words order of, order, authors and/or list:
“There is no permanent class of hired laborers amongst us. Twenty five years ago, I was a hired laborer. The hired laborer of yesterday, labors on his own account today; and will hire others to labor for him tomorrow. Advancement—improvement in condition—is the order of things in a society of equals.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“They are the lovers of law and order who observe the law when the government breaks it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Most bad books get that way because their authors are engaged in trying to justify themselves. If a vain author is an alcoholic, then the most sympathetically portrayed character in his book will be an alcoholic. This sort of thing is very boring for outsiders.”
—Stephen Vizinczey (b. 1933)
“All is possible,
Who so list believe;
Trust therefore first, and after preve,
As men wed ladies by license and leave,
All is possible.”
—Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503?–1542)